Many homes, especially well decorated homes, have decorative fixtures such as cornice fixtures, which can look like a three sided box. A cornice fixture is centered around a window and covers the top of the window. It is often made of wood, which is then padded and then covered in fabric. It can also be made of decorative wood molding, polystyrene, metal or any other decorative material.
Standard cornice fixtures include custom made fixtures and manufactured fixtures. Typically, a custom made cornice fixture includes a pair of L-shaped brackets and a wooden board, or cornice board, which extends between the brackets. Typically, the cornice board is wood and has a depth of 4.5 inches to 6 inches and a specific length, which corresponds to the size of window over which the cornice board is to be hung. Window treatments, which are frequently fabric drapes or the like, are constructed specifically to fit that board and then attached to the board with staples or Velcro™. The window treatments may be sewn together as one piece (i.e. a box valance) or can be made of multiple overlapping pieces (i.e. Swag and Cascades). The pair of brackets are attached to a wall—one bracket on each side of a window—and then the cornice board, usually with the window treatment already installed, is attached to the pair of brackets. Because the cornice board of a custom made fixture is normally made of wood, it must be cut to the desired size very accurately because it cannot expand.
Cairns, U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,741, discloses a manufactured cornice fixture having a telescopic rod and at least two brackets. The telescopic rod has attachment surfaces, which are used for removably attaching window treatments. The brackets are attached to the wall—on both sides of a window. Then, the telescopic rod is attached to the brackets such that it extends between the two brackets. Then, window treatments are attached to the attachment surfaces of the telescopic rod. As opposed to a cornice board of a custom made cornice fixture, the telescopic rod does not need to be cut to a specific length. Instead, the telescopic rod is expanded/contracted to extend between the brackets. However, this means that in order for the cornice fixture itself to be centered around the window, the brackets must be centered around the window. Consequently, installing the brackets requires very accurate measurements to ensure that they are centered around the window, which means that the installation is normally preformed by a professional.
Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.